Backstage Update: Who WWE Wanted To Host RAW Next Week

Just prior to the announcement that "Rowdy" Roddy Piper would be hosting next week's RAW from Madison Square Garden came a report that WWE was hoping to secure a NBC television personality for the gig.

While the story did not elaborate on the identity of said personality, speculation suggests it was Jimmy Fallon. Fallon was named as a likely RAW emcee in a late-summer Variety article touting WWE's weekly "host" gimmick. He has also been making cameos (recently on "30 Rock" and "Gossip Girl") in support of his late night talk show. As noted before, the deal to get the TV personality to co-host did not work out.

I can also confirm that there had been talks with several New York Yankees players including Johnny Damon. That also failed to pan out.